The Legal Services Global Market Opportunities And Strategies To 2023 report provides strategists, marketers, and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the legal services market. Given their evolving legal requirements and the need to get the best value for money in all aspects of their business in this new environment, some customers are more likely to switch to another provider who can provide the best outcome for the most reasonable fees. From online legal service providers to alternative legal solution providers (ALSPs) to the Big Four, legal clients from almost every background have options other than lawyers for their business. This power encourages lawyers and firms to think about what is truly unique in their practice. Simply put, there will always be a viable alternative for many of the questions your customers bring you. For lawyers in high-risk substitution markets, the way forward will likely be to give up some of the work that surrogates do and focus your efforts on the services that only you can provide to your clients. 2. Substitution threat: Where can your customers use some or all of the services you offer? Law firms around the world have relied on BigLaw`s business model for decades, as it provides excellent service to clients and handsome profits to partners. But times have changed. Pressure on price reductions, commodification and growing customer demand for efficient and business-relevant services. To address this, law firms must go beyond cutting costs while maintaining the overall way they earn work, produce work, and govern themselves.
Maximizing IT value is achieved by structuring IT governance with executive accountability and seamless IT integration across the enterprise. Information technology is already replacing lawyers to some extent. Artificial intelligence enables the analysis of large amounts of complex language-based data in a more consistent and efficient way than humans. Expert systems enable companies to extend their services to customers and leverage their expertise beyond individual, personalized advice. Analytics help companies provide more quantitative insights into legal risk management. Visualization is an effective tool for improving the communication of qualitative and quantitative information in legal and other contexts. • Threat of Power of Attorney – The prospect of a Power of Attorney was unknown a few years ago, but we are now seeing competition from contractors for litigation, technology, virtual law firms, and even non-lawyers. In some jurisdictions, external investment will create new models and accounting firms will resume providing legal services. Another major drawback is the tendency to use the five forces to analyze a single company versus a broader industry, as the framework was intended. Growing a law firm quickly isn`t easy, but if you`re ready to expand and want to do it quickly, there are key people out there who will help you get there.
To evolve effectively, these areas of your law firm deserve some attention and evaluation, with a clear plan of what can be improved and a strategy for the future. By combining these strengths, your business will develop efficiencies, resulting in a lean practice designed to evolve. If you agree with our assessment of the future of the legal services industry and the implications for traditional law firms, you have concluded that the traditional model is not viable without significant changes. We hope that reading Remaking Law Firms will inspire you and help you be ready and able to take remake steps in your firm. The last of the five forces focuses on substitutes. Substitute goods or services that can be used in place of a company`s products or services pose a threat. Companies that produce goods or services for which there are no close substitutes will have more power to raise prices and obtain favourable terms. When narrow substitutes are available, customers have the option to forgo buying a company`s product, and a company`s power can be weakened.
A diagnostic tool is provided to law firms. It helps businesses assess their knowledge of changes in the legal services market, the extent to which individuals and businesses have already changed, how they get work and how they work, and their companies` willingness to change.